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Leonid Afremov Modern Painter

Leonid Afremov was born in 1955 in Vitebsk, Belarus and has lived an international life as a modern impressionist painter with a politically neutral agenda. His purpose is to remind the busy people of the world that certain places are simply beautiful and worth a moment of study. Afremov has created his own unique painting style as well. He uses a palette knife and oils and the technique makes his work recognizable. The artist also uses the internet to promote and sell his work, rather than attending galleries or using exhibits and dealers. It was the internet which changed the game for Afremov and now he is a well-known and respected artist who works with landscape, still life and portraits. His work seems to glow like a stained glass window.

Afremov has lived in Belarus, Israel, the United States and Mexico. One of his role models is Marc Chagall and he studied at the Vitebsk Education Institute. In 1978 Afremov graduated from the Vitebsk Art School as one of their elites before studying privately with a famous local artist, Barowski. Years later in 1990, he and his family immigrated to Israel under the political auspices of Gorbachev.

At the end of the 90s, Afremov befriended the jazz musician Leonid Ptashka and began to paint a collection of portraits of popular jazz musicians. This brought about an upswing in his artistic career with respect to being able to exhibit his work. But after setbacks, his family immigrated to the United States and began to use the online auction system Ebay to sell his work. This proved to be extremely profitable and Afremov was able to paint whatever he wished. Psychologists found his paintings to be relaxing and calm and offered to buy them in order to make use of them in their work. Afremov soon launched his own website to display and sell his works without having to use a gallery or exhibition process. Even though he has been offered the opportunity to exhibit, he prefers to use the internet and sell directly to collectors.

Leonid Afremov now lives in Mexico with his family and enjoys painting the beautiful landscapes of the region there. His artwork is politically neutral and he avoids putting any messages, hidden or explicit, within his work. The openness of the paintings, as just an expression of seeing the world through the artist’s eyes, have made them popular with nearly any social group. The bright colors tend to evoke a sense of calm and joy. The artist’s story is one of overcoming difficulties in order to achieve his personal vision and is as inspiring as his paintings. Please visit Leonid Afremov’s website to view his extraordinary paintings.

Fiona Kelly

Fiona Kelly is a freelance writer and editor working in Seattle who has published novels, short stories, scripts, comic books, radio dramas, and content for several magazines, companies and nonprofit organizations.

Fiona has written many published short stories and articles for magazines both in the US and the UK and also teaches others how to write better. Her writing style stresses character and adventure, with constant questions of gender and gender roles, while usually holding elements of magical realism, mythology and wonder.